Image of Roger Whittaker

Roger Whittaker

Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability as well as his guitar skills. He is widely known for his version of "Wind Beneath My Wings" (1982), as well as his own compositions "Durham Town (The Leavin')" (1969) and "I Don't Believe in If Anymore" (1970). American audiences are most familiar with his 1970 hit "New World in the Morning" and his 1975 hit "The Last Farewell", which is his only single to hit the Billboard Hot 100 (it made the Top 20) and also hit No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. He is also known for his renditions of "Ding! Dong! Merrily on High" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas". His final top-charting hit was "Albany", which scored No. 3 in West Germany in 1982. Whittaker's parents, Edward and Vi Whittaker, were from Staffordshire, England, where they owned and operated a grocery shop. His father was injured in a motorcycle accident and the family moved to a farm near Thika, Kenya, because of its warmer climate. His grandfather sang in various clubs and his father played the violin. Roger learned to play the guitar. Upon completing his primary education, Whittaker was admitted to Prince of Wales School (now Nairobi School). Upon completing his high school education, he was called up for national service and spent two years in the Kenya Regiment fighting the Mau Mau in the Aberdare Forest. In 1956 he was demobilised and decided on a career in medicine. He enrolled at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. However, he left after 18 months and joined the civil service education department as a teacher, following in his mother's footsteps. To further his teaching career, Whittaker moved to Britain in September 1959. For the next three years, he studied zoology, biochemistry and marine biology at University College of North Wales and earned a Bachelor of Science degree while singing in local clubs, and released songs on Flexi discs included with the campus newspaper, the Bangor University Rag. Shortly afterwards, he was signed to Fontana Records, which released his first professional single, "The Charge of the Light Brigade", in 1962. (On the labels of the Fontana singles, he is billed as "Rog Whittaker".) In the summer of 1962, Whittaker performed in Portrush, Northern Ireland. He achieved a breakthrough when he was signed to appear on an Ulster Television show called This and That. His second single was a cover version of "Steel Men", released in June 1962. ... Source: Article "Roger Whittaker" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.


Read bio at tmdb | Read bio at Wikipedia
Born:
Mar 22, 1936 In Nairobi, Kenya
Movie/TV Credits:
35
First Appeared:
In the series Was bin ich? 1955-01-02
Latest Project:
Series Musikalische Reise 2010-01-03
Known For
Poster of Desperately Seeking Roger
Poster of Show & Co. mit Carlo
Poster of Telespiele
Poster of Don-Lurio-Show
Filmography
Series Musikalische Reise Self 2010-01-03
Series Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel Self 2004-01-31
Series Servus, Hansi Hinterseer Self 2004-10-30
Series Starnacht am Wörthersee Self 2000-08-25
Series Immer wieder sonntags self 1995-06-11
Series Musik für Sie self 1995-07-07
Series Die Feste mit Florian Silbereisen Self 1994-06-02
Series Höchstpersönlich self 1994-01-05
Series Musik liegt in der Luft Self - Singer 1991-02-02
Movie Desperately Seeking Roger 1991-07-07
Series Flitterabend Self - Singer 1988-12-01
Series ZDF-Fernsehgarten Self 1986-06-29
Series Melodien für Millionen Self 1985-02-02
Series Show & Co. mit Carlo Self 1984-03-29
Series Tag des deutschen Schlagers Self 1981-01-01
Series Verstehen Sie Spaß? Self 1980-01-31
Series Show-Express Self 1980-09-25
Series Auf los geht's los Self 1977-01-22
Series Telespiele Self 1977-11-10
Series Bitte umblättern Self 1977-04-20
Series Musik ist Trumpf Self 1975-01-02
Series Système 2 Self 1975-01-19
Series Die Montagsmaler Self 1974-01-14
Series Musikladen Self 1972-12-13
Series Don-Lurio-Show Self 1972-06-03
Series Mary’s Music Self 1971-11-29
Series Die ZDF-Hitparade Self 1969-01-18
Series Starparade Self 1968-03-14
Series 4-3-2-1 Hot and Sweet Self 1966-06-11
Series Einer wird gewinnen Self 1964-01-25
Series Die Drehscheibe Self 1964-04-01
Series Musik aus Studio B Self 1961-10-22
Series Discorama Self 1959-02-04
Series Zum blauen Bock Self 1957-08-03
Series Was bin ich? self 1955-01-02